Ventilated suit

ABSTRACT

A protective outer leather garment is disclosed, which garment includes a ventilation system to reduce the probability of heat prostration by the wearer. A plurality of apertures, which apertures permit a flow of air intermediate the garment and the wearer, are disposed within low stress areas of the garment. A backing material, which material is pliable and of a low stretch or non-stretch type, is attached adjacent the interior side of the leather in proximity to the apertures. Thereby, the stress concentrations attendant the apertured leather are relieved without affecting the normal pliability of the leather and the inherent comfort of the garment is preserved.

El ited States Patent H 1 H 1 3,761,962

Myers Oct. 2, 1973 VENTILATED SUIT Primary ExaminerH. Hampton Hunter[76] Inventor: Kent R. Myers, 919 W. Colter Ave., A'mmey wimam Cahi etPhoenix, Ariz. 85013 [22] Filed: Jan. 29, 1973 [57] ABSTRACT Appl. No.:327,487

A protective outer leather garment is disclosed, which garment includesa ventilation system to reduce the probability of heat prostration bythe wearer. A plurality of apertures, which apertures permit a flow ofair intermediate the garment and the wearer, are disposed within lowstress areas of the garment. A backing material, which material ispliable and of a low stretch or non-stretch type, is attached adjacentthe interior side of the leather in proximity to the apertures. Thereby,the stress concentrations attendant the apertured leather are relievedwithout affecting the normal pliability of the leather and the inherentcomfort of the garment is preserved.

9 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures VENTILATED sun The present invention relatesto ventilated outer garments, and more particularly, to leather garmentsprotecting the wearer from cuts and abrasions.

Motorcyclists, whether riding in the street, crosscountry, or in races,are very susceptible to injury from collision with another vehicle orobject. Similarly, spills due to a momentary loss of balance, inducedeither by an abrupt change in speed or direction of travel, or due tosudden changes in terrain, are not uncommon. The motorcycle, itself,offers little, if any, protection to the motorcyclist during thecollision or spill. If the motorcyclist is lucky, he will havesufficient time to jump from the motorcycle or be thrown clear of it. Ifhe is unlucky, he will be crushed by the motorcycle.

When the motorcyclist jumps or is thrown from his motorcycle, he will,of course, strike the ground. As a result of the many serious injuriessustained by motorcyclists hitting the ground or other objects, manystates have passed legislation requiring all motorcyclists to wearprotective helmets. These helmets have served to reduce the severity ofhead injuries. However, there has been little, if any, legislativeaction to enforce the wear ing of an effective garment or garments bythe motorcyclist to reduce the severity of injuries to the remainingparts of his body.

For years, serious motorcyclists have worn leather jackets and leatherpants. Their choice has been predicated upon the inherent properties ofleather garments. That is, the leather is sufficiently pliable toconform to the body of the wearer without impeding physical movement.The leather is sufficiently non-porous to guard the wearer against thechilling effect of the wind at high speeds, yet, the porosity of theleather permits the body to breathe." During a spill, the leather willtend to absorb the abrasive effect of the terrain and thereby protectthe wearer against most cuts and abrasions that would otherwise besustained. Further, the leather, being essentially grainless, will notreadily rip or tear and thereby offers a further measure of protection.

Despite the many benefits of motorcyclists leather jackets and pants,they suffer from one disadvantage. During competition, a motorcyclistexerts a tremendous amount of effort and energy in controlling andmanipulating his motorcycle along the race course. The most grueling andexhausting races are, of course, cross-country races where the terrainchanges continually. During such races, the body heat of themotorcyclist increases very rapidly, resulting in excessiveperspiration. The porosity of the leather jacket and pants, whilesufficient for normal activies, is insufficient during theabove-mentioned strenuous task. A heat buildup will occur. This heatbuildup, unless relieved, may result in heat prostration or at least adiminishing of the mental and physical efficiency of the motorcyclist.

Various attempts have been made in the past to ventilate outer garments.One of the most common methods has been that of attaching a plurality ofspacers to the inner surface of the garment. The spacers serve tomaintain an air space between the wearer and the garment. U.S. Pat. Nos.3,213,465; 3,296,626; and 3,045,243 are illustrative of this concept.Another approach has been that of employing a slit in the garment,

which slit is normally protected against intrusion of the elementstherethrough by some type of flap arrangement, as illustrated in U.S.Pat. Nos. 3,153,793; 3,213,465; and 3,296,626. Where the wearer issubjected to an intense heat source, such as during a welding operation,the garments may be lined with heat reflective material, as shown inU.S. Pat. No. 3,691,564. For garments made of impervious materials andwhich garments are not subjected to any stresses, parts of the garmentmay be apertured, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,657,741.

In each of the above described patents, the garment is used asprotection against the elements and not as protection against physicalinjury to the wearer. For this reason, the various vents used need notbe capable of and are not capable of withstanding the stresses andstrains imposed upon a garment having the function of protecting thewearer againstphysical injury.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide aventilated protective garment.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a pliableform-fitting ventilated outer garment.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a ventilationsystem for an outer garment, which system does not reduce the protectivequality of the garment.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a ventilationsystem disposed within a protective garment, which system does notimpede nor hinder the normal expected physical movement of the wearer.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a ventilationsystem for a protective garment, which system will dissipate theexcessive body heat generated by strenuous physical activity.

A yet further object of the present invention is to provide aventilation system for an outer garment, which ventilation system hasaesthetic appeal.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide aventilated leather suit for motorcyclists.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent asthe description thereof proceeds.

The present invention may be understood with more specificity andclarity with reference to the following figures, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates the ventilation system of the present inventiondisposed within a leather jacket.

FIG. 2 illustrates a leather jacket and leather pants incorporating thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates the elements of the ventilation system of the presentinvention when used as decoration on a garment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the present invention, taken alonglines 44, as shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the present invention incorporatedas an integral part of a garment.

For reasons expressed above, motorcyclists prefer to use leather outergarments when riding motorcycles. More specifically, it is mandatoryfrom the standpoint of safety that the motorcyclist wear leatherclothing while participating in races. The leather garments serve toabsorb the impact and scrapping encountered should the motorcyclist takea spill.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, jointly, there are shown typicallyconfigured motorcycle jackets l and pants 20 modified to incorporate thepresent invention. The body 2 of jacket 1 is form-fitting, and becauseit is of leather, will mold itself to the torso of the wearer. Thesleeves 3 and 4 are relatively tight fitting about the arms of thewearer but yet sufficiently pliable to permit unrestricted movement. Azipper 6 is normally used to fasten the jacket as the resulting seam iswindproof and sufficiently strong to prevent separation duringemergencies. The collar 5, though fitting tightly about the neck of thewearer, does not cause discomfort nor inconvenience because of the softand pliable nature of the leather. The lower part of body 2 mayincorporate a waistband 7. The purpose of waistband 7 is that ofproviding support for the wearers kidneys from the jostling and shakingencountered when riding a motorcycle.

A band 9 of apertures 10 is disposed horizontally across the front andback of the jacket 1. The band 9 is horizontal and positioned beneaththe armholes of body 2. Similar bands 11 and 12 of apertures 10 arepositioned along the inseam of sleeves 3 and 4, respectively. Thepositions of these respective bands generally correspond to those areasof the jacket 1 which are not subject to contact with the ground in aspill and therefore are not subject to a great deal of stress.

The pants 20, like jacket 1, are of leather and generally form-fitting.They are relatively tight to provide the requisite protection, yetsufficiently pliable and formable to comply with the body contours ofthe wearer. A further band 15 of apertures 10 is disposed along eachpants leg 13 and 14 in the area generally referred to as the side seam.

The bands 9, 11,12, and 15, being apertured, provide passageways for aflow of air into and out of jacket 1 and pants 20. The actual path ofair flow intermediate jacket 1 and pants 20 and the motorcyclist isdependent upon the position of the various other openings to the jacketor pants. In example, the cuffs l6, 17 of sleeves 3 and 4 are generallyforwardly oriented and receive the full impact of the air flow.Consequently, air will flow into the sleeves through the cuffs 16, 17and flow along the sleeve with some leakage through apertures 10 inbands 11 and 12. Or, the air flow may flow into the sleeves 3 and 4through the apertures 10 within bands 11 and 12. Some of theabove-described air flow will flow from the sleeves interior to body 2.Therefrom, the air flow may exit through neck or through apertureswithin body 9. In a different orientation of the torso of themotorcyclist, the air flow may enter body 2 through apertures 10 of band9 and exit via the neck 5. Similarly, the air flow may enter throughapertures 10 of band and exit via the cuffs of the pants leg, or, foranother orientation of the motorcyclists legs, the air flow may travelin the reverse path.

The net result of the above-described possible paths of air flow is thatof evaporating the motorcyclists perspiration. Thus, the normal bodyfunction in controlling and preventing heat buildup can be accommodatedand results in a lesser probability of the motorcyclist becomingfatigued due to excessive body heat or suffer from heat prostration.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a detailed view of the structuralfeatures of one of the above-described bands of apertures 10, where sucha band is used as a decorative as well as a functional element. Inexample, band 15, which may be of a contrasting color, is disposed as aseparate panel intermediate rear panel 21 and front panel 22 of pantsleg 13 in the location corresponding to that of the side seam.

Band 15 is formed by a leather strip 25, which leather strip hasdisposed therein a plurality of apertures 19. As

is well known in the mechanical art, a change in the configuration of astress bearing member may result in a concentration of stress. Unlessthe member is adequately reinforced or configured to minimize theconcentration of stresses, failure may occur. The apertures within theband are of such a nature as to concentrate the stresses imposed uponthe garment by the wearer about the apertures. Consequently, the garmentmay tear in proximity to the apertures. To prevent damage from theconcentration of stresses, a matching strip of backing material 23 isadhesively affixed to strip 25. The backing material 23 may be of anyone of several types of materials provided that it is essentiallystretchresistent but pliable, in example, naugahyde. Backing material 23includes a plurality of apertures 24, which apertures correspond inposition to those of strip 25. The composite formed by the leather strip25 and backing material 23 is stitched by stitches 26 to each of panels21 and 22.

Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown a cross-sectional view of the band15 positioned intermediate panels 21 and 22. The corresponding apertures24 and 19 form apertures 10, as discussed above. The method ofattachment of band 15 to the pants leg 13 will not deform the pants legnor cause any discomfort to the wearer.

the inherent protective properties of the leather garments aremaintained because of the incorporation of a leather strip within band15. The addition of backing material 23, being essentiallyunstretchable, will prevent the concentration of stresses attendant eachof apertures 19 within the leather strip from causing the strip to tearor be damaged.

Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown a cross-sectional view of anapertured leather band 31, where the band is formed by the positioningof the apertures 10 rather than by a separate apertured composite strip.In this configuration, the backing material 30 is adhesively affixed tothe leather garment in a location corresponding to the location of theto be formed apertured band 31. A plurality of apertures 10 are thanjointly formed in the panel and backing material. The backing material30, being essentially non-stretchable, prevents the concentration ofstresses attendant to each of apertures 11] from tearing or otherwisedeleteriously affecting the panel during strenuous activity.

While the principles of the invention have now been made clear in anillustrative embodiment, there will be immediately obvious to thoseskilled in the art many modifications of structure, arrangement,proportions, the elements, materials, and components, used in thepractice of the invention which are particularly adapted for specificenvironments and operating requirements without departing from thoseprinciples.

I claim:

1. A ventilated leather garment for protecting the wearer againstinjury, said garment comprising:

A. a form-fitting leather jacket having a torso and sleeves;

B. a first and second plurality of apertures disposed within the frontand back, respectively, of said torso, said apertures defining a firstand second band of apertures across the front and back, respectively;

C. a third plurality of apertures disposed in proximity to the inseam ofeach of said sleeves, said third plurality of apertures defining a thirdband of apertures along each said sleeve;

D. pliable backing material disposed adjacent each of said first, secondand third bands, said backing material being essentially unstretchable;and

E. a plurality of apertures disposed within said backing material, eachone of said plurality of apertures being coincident with correspondingones of said apertures within said first, second, and third bands;whereby, the concentration of stresses attendant said apertures of saidjacket are accommodated by said backing material to prevent tearing ofthe leather.

2. The garment as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first and secondband of apertures extend across the front and back of said torso.

3. The garment as set forth in claim 2 wherein said first and secondband of apertures extend horizontally about said torso beneath the armholes.

4. The garment as set forth in claim 1 wherein said third band ofapertures extends along the inseam of each of said sleeves.

5. The garment as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

A. said first band and said corresponding backing material are formed asa first strip, said first strip being inserted as a panel of the frontof said torso;

B. said second band and said corresponding backing material are formedas a second strip, said second strip being inserted as a panel of theback of said torso; and

C. said third band and said corresponding backing material are formed asa third strip, said third strip being inserted as a panel of each ofsaid sleeves.

6. The garment as set forth in claim 1 including:

A. a pair of form-fitting leather pants;

B. a fourth plurality of apertures disposed along each pants leg, saidfourth plurality of apertures defining a fourth band of apertures;

C. pliable backing material disposed adjacent said fourth band, saidbacking material being essentially unstretchable; and

D. a plurality of apertures disposed within said backing material, eachone of said plurality of apertures being coincident with correspondingones of said apertures within said fourth band.

7. The garment as set forth in claim 6 wherein said fourth band and saidcorresponding backing material are formed as a fourth strip, said fourthstrip being inserted as a panel of each of the legs of said pants.

8. The garment as set forth in claim 6 wherein said fourth band ofapertures extends along the side seam of said pants.

9. A ventilated leather garment for protecting the wearer againstinjury, said garment comprising:

A. a pair of form-fitting leather pants;

B. a plurality of apertures disposed along each pants leg, saidplurality of apertures defining a band of apertures;

C. pliable backing material disposed adjacent said band, said backingmaterial being essentially unstretchable; and

D. a plurality of apertures disposed within said backing material, eachone of said plurality of apertures being coincident with correspondingones of said apertures within said band; whereby, the concentration ofstresses attendant said apertures of said pants are accommodated by saidbacking material to prevent tearing of the leather.

1. A ventilated leather garment for protecting the wearer againstinjury, said garment comprising: A. a form-fitting leather jacket havinga torso and sleeves; B. a first and second plurality of aperturesdisposed within the front and back, respectively, of said torso, saidapertures defining a first and second band of apertures across the frontand back, respectively; C. a third plurality of apertures disposed inproximity to the inseam of each of said sleeves, said third plurality ofapertures defining a third band of apertures along each said sleeve; D.pliable backing material disposed adjacent each of said first, secondand third bands, said backing material being essentially unstretchable;and E. a plurality of apertures disposed within said backing material,each one of said plurality of apertures being coincident withcorresponding ones of said apertures within said first, second, andthird bands; whereby, the concentration of stresses attendant saidapertures of said jacket are accommodated by said backing material toprevent tearing of the leather.
 2. The garment as set forth in claim 1wherein said first and second band of apertures extend across the frontand back of said torso.
 3. The garment as set forth in claim 2 whereinsaid first and second band of apertures extend horizontally about saidtorso beneath the arm holes.
 4. The garment as set forth in claim 1wherein said third band of apertures extends along the inseam of each ofsaid sleeves.
 5. The garment as set forth in claim 1 wherein: A. saidfirst band and said corresponding backing material are formed as a firststrip, said first strip beIng inserted as a panel of the front of saidtorso; B. said second band and said corresponding backing material areformed as a second strip, said second strip being inserted as a panel ofthe back of said torso; and C. said third band and said correspondingbacking material are formed as a third strip, said third strip beinginserted as a panel of each of said sleeves.
 6. The garment as set forthin claim 1 including: A. a pair of form-fitting leather pants; B. afourth plurality of apertures disposed along each pants leg, said fourthplurality of apertures defining a fourth band of apertures; C. pliablebacking material disposed adjacent said fourth band, said backingmaterial being essentially unstretchable; and D. a plurality ofapertures disposed within said backing material, each one of saidplurality of apertures being coincident with corresponding ones of saidapertures within said fourth band.
 7. The garment as set forth in claim6 wherein said fourth band and said corresponding backing material areformed as a fourth strip, said fourth strip being inserted as a panel ofeach of the legs of said pants.
 8. The garment as set forth in claim 6wherein said fourth band of apertures extends along the side seam ofsaid pants.
 9. A ventilated leather garment for protecting the weareragainst injury, said garment comprising: A. a pair of form-fittingleather pants; B. a plurality of apertures disposed along each pantsleg, said plurality of apertures defining a band of apertures; C.pliable backing material disposed adjacent said band, said backingmaterial being essentially unstretchable; and D. a plurality ofapertures disposed within said backing material, each one of saidplurality of apertures being coincident with corresponding ones of saidapertures within said band; whereby, the concentration of stressesattendant said apertures of said pants are accommodated by said backingmaterial to prevent tearing of the leather.